Senate Scraps

While the Springfield Intruder blog is largely the work of Bill Dusty, he’s open to running commentary by other writers, even soliciting contributions on his site. As far as I can tell, the only person who’s taken Dusty up on the invitation is Jerold Duquette, a poli sci professor at Central Connecticut State University who writes frequently on political and social issues and who inhabits a position far to the left of Dusty’s conservative stance. And as history shows—need I offer any more compelling evidence than Patty and Cathy Lane—opposites not only attract; they also can be very entertaining.

Take this interesting back and forth about the Brown/Warren Senate race: a post by Dusty, in which he pulls together various examples of what he calls Warren’s “outright lies, her class-baiting, [and] the fabulously rich life she leads while condemning others who live likewise”; this countering piece from Duquette, in which he argues against media reports that Warren’s campaign is in trouble; and this second Duquette piece in which he criticizes former Mayor Charlie Ryan’s decision to endorse Scott Brown.

Duquette’s not the only one objecting to the long-time Democrat Ryan’s decision to cross party lines to back Brown. The Springfield Republican has published—and, not incidentally, prominently featured on MassLive—a couple of letters chiding Ryan for his decision to back Brown, including this one from his old pal Durham Caldwell, a veteran Valley journalist.

If the readers’ responses on MassLive are any indication, though, public sentiment is with Ryan. Some of the comments appear to be anti-Warren; others, pro-Ryan, like this one: “Kudos to Charlie Ryan. We all need to begin voting for candidates that support our own viewpoints and those who we believe will do the most to help our country. Voting for a person simply because of their party afiliation [sic] creates political parties that move more to the left or right as they create a false sense of approval for their positions. We all should vote with an independent eye.”

Ryan, of course, has never been one to toe the Democratic party line, whether it was his decision to back John McCain in the 2000 presidential election (see Tommy Devine’s recollection of attending a McCain rally with Ryan, his wife, Joan, and former City Councilor Mitch Ogulewicz) or his decision in 1968 to run against fellow Democrat Eddie Boland, the incumbent Congressman.

By the way, if you were to Google “Charles Ryan and Edward Boland” to, say, confirm the year of that race, you’d find this excellent photo, for sale on eBay, of a young Ryan, Boland and Teddy Kennedy, taken in 1966 – $28.88; free shipping.